


Breathing Cycles

by HolyKingWasteLand



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-typical swearing, Detroit: Become Human Spoilers, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hank and Connor are living together, Hank-typical swearing, Not Beta Read, Not Really Character Death, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Spoilers, Swearing, Thought to be Character Death, Turn back if you haven't played/watched the game, We Die Like Men, but not really, rated t for mentions of death, trigger warning for death?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 14:01:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16243112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyKingWasteLand/pseuds/HolyKingWasteLand
Summary: "You appear to be in distress, are you al-"Hank cuts him off with a breathy yell; "You weren't fucking breathing!"OR;Connor forgets to leave on his breathing cycle when he goes into his "rest mode" and freaks out Hank and Sumo.





	Breathing Cycles

Connor lays comfortably on the couch, Sumo lying heavily on his chest. He turns his head to the side and watches some people run around on the t.v that he has had muted since Hank went to bed. He blinks softly and barely startles when a notification sounds through his ears. He shuts his eyes and scans his system to check for it.

_New updates found._

Huh. Okay, that's fine; he can let it update over night. He moves slightly and Sumo snuggles his wet nose into Connor's shoulder. He lets his thermal regulator- or "heart"- slow down and his breathing slows until he's no longer awake.

 

* * *

 

Hank wakes up to Sumo barking at and licking his face. He groans and moves around, not fully awake but still disgruntled, and he tries to shove the dog off. Sumo whines and paws at Hank's neck roughly. "Urghh.. Sumo- what'd you want?" He grumbles, attempting to push the dog off him again.

Sumo barks and then growls, which causes Hank to actually open his eyes and look over at him. "What?" He asks, sitting up with a groan as his back pops. Sumo barks once and then jumps off the bed, landing loudly on the ground as he bounds down the hallway. 

With a huff and a roll of his eyes, Hank follows the dog out to the living room where he first spots the t.v that's still on, which means Connor is still-

" _What the fuck?!_ " Hank shouts, alarmed by the motionless Connor laying on his couch. "Connor?!"

All of Hank's yelling draws the Android from his rest cycle and he sits up, blinking concernedly. "Yes Hank?" He asks, throwing his legs over the side of the couch and stands up. "You appear to be in distress, are you al-"

Hank cuts him off with a breathy yell; "You weren't fucking breathing!"

Connor blinks and pauses for a moment to quickly run a check on what programs he left running last night. "Oh. It appears I forgot to leave my breathing cycle on as I was "asleep" last night."

"Breathing cycle my ass! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Hank clutches his shirt in pain and Connor moves closer in concern, putting his hands up to try and comfort him; he looks remorseful.

"I'm sorry Hank, it wasn't my intention to cause you any stress." He says in a soft, soothing tone, resting his hands on Hank's shoulders.

Hank takes a deep breath before sighing heavily. Sumo trots around them, wagging his tail and whines softly. Connor smiles encouraging and takes a deep breath himself, effectively turning on his breathing cycle. "Deep breaths Hank, everything's fine." The android soothes, gently guiding them both to sit down on the couch.

They breathe in relative silence for a few minutes (besides Sumo's concerned whining) but Hank eventually comes back to himself. Connor rubs his hand in a circular motion on the man's back, and Hank curses quietly. He rubs his eyes with his right index finger and thumb, and lets Connor take hold of his left hand.

"For a few moments before you woke up.. You reminded me of Cole. Just.." He swallows thickly, covering his eyes with his whole hand. "Lying there, so cold- so lifeless-" He chokes on a sob and Connor feels his Android "heart" start to ache. After a quick scan, and finds nothing wrong, he files this under emotions, and in a sub-sub folder "empathy".

For a second more he just sits there, rubbing Hank's back, before something clicks in him and he pulls the older man into a hug. He doesn't really know what to do- he wasn't programmed to deal with emotions like this- but he does what his instincts tell him to, and he starts carding his fingers through his house-mate's hair.

"I-I just-" Hank takes a breath and pulls away slightly so he can see Connor's concerned face. "I can't lose you Con- I can't lose another son." He says this so desperately that it breaks Connor's metaphorical heart.

Connor smiles softly and looks down, thinking of what to say. He looks back up again and sees conflict burning in Hank's eyes- the eyes that are determinedly staring away from Connor's own. "Hank.." He lets out an unnecessary breath and Hank seems to shrink back slightly. "It's alright, you haven't lost me," He hesitates for a minute, waiting to gouge out the older man's reaction. "dad."

Fresh tears come to Hank's eyes and he makes eye contact with Connor. The latter pulls the former into his arms and it takes only a second for Hank to wrap his arms around Connor tightly. They only pull apart when Sumo tries to squish himself in between the two men. They both laugh and move to make room for the doggy. Sumo pounces up and lays across them sleepily.

Connor makes a mental note to never forget his breathing cycle again.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr!](https://holykingwasteland.tumblr.com/)


End file.
